Iman: I don't know what will make a difference in Somalia. I have exhausted every possible angle of where reconciliation could come from. But like in any civil war, if you don't let the past go, it will never get settled. People will just carry on the hostilities from generation to generation.

Alek: That's true and people forget what they're fighting for after a while. It's like somebody asking me, "Who do you side with- the government or your people in the South?" To me there isn't anybody that is right when so many good people are getting killed. I am from the Dinka tribe - it's one of the older tribes in Sudan. But my parents didn't raise us as the Dinka tribe. They raised as the Wek family in the way they believed their kids should grow up.

Iman: We don't have tribes in Somalia. We have a clan system. It's all about intermarrying families with families. So in a way everyone is related in one way or the other. We have one language and one religion, one tradition and one culture. Somalia is the only country in Africa that has that system. That's why it is so strange that there is a civil war.

Alek: What was it like for you to come to America in the 70's?

Iman: I felt very isolated at first. A lot of white Americans would say, "Oh, you must have some white blood in you." Needless to say I am all Somali and I don't look that different from a lot of Somali girls. Then African-Americans also had this gripe about me because they did not think I looked African enough. I ended up feeling insulted by both!

Alek: It's like you come from Somalia and I come from Sudan. Why do people think we all have to look a certain way just because we are Africans? It's like saying Denmark, Germany, England and France are all part of Europe, so everyone there should be the same. People have some image in their head, but the truth is, Africans don't all go around wearing beads and tribal headgear.

Iman: For you to be accepted in America as a beautiful woman and a model is such a leap of faith for so many people. The fashion industry and the public have never seen beauty like yours before.

Alek: Yes, people are looking beyond what has been acceptable before, and turning to other cultures. If you publish a magazine that's supposed to be for all the people, then you need to have all those people represented in it.

Iman: Exactly! I saw you on the Oprah Winfrey show one day and Oprah said something to you that astounded me. She said,"If you had been there when I was growing up, I would have thought of myself as beautiful." How profound! And that is the power of the media in our culture. How can a young black girl who doesn't see images she can relate to, feel that she is beautiful?

Alek: I believe that true beauty comes from inside you and that always shows through. I have no problem with whatever the next big look is, whether it's big blonde hair and blue eyes or green hair and dark eyes. That's fine so long as there isn't just one ideal image. Don't try and tell me that only one look is beautiful!

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF) --- is the world's largest independent international medical relief agency aiding victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-made disasters, and others who lack health care due to geographic remoteness or ethnic marginalization.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

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